1stly , let's get something very clear . If I have a " complaint " with the bullets , then I will say so myself. I do not like the .460 Weatherby magnum calibre ( in it's factory loaded form ) for various reasons , as listed below :
> The recoil is ungodly . In my 10 year career as a professional hunter , I do not recall having even 1 client who could shoot accurately / handle the recoil of a .460 Weatherby magnum calibre rifle with factory loaded ammunition. I have fired a .460 Weatherby magnum calibre rifle 7 times in my life and I struggled with it as well. Perhaps , I am physically weak , but I weigh 186 pounds and have a height of 6 feet 2 inches . I have also served in the military and seen combat .
> The only way the average man can take the recoil of a .460 Weatherby magnum calibre rifle is by using a muzzle brake . God help your ears and the ears of your professional hunter if you happen to be firing 1 with him near you ( which invariably happens a great deal , especially in dangerous game hunts . )
> At normal ranges where dangerous game is shot ... the .460 Weatherby magnum in it's factory loaded format delivers excessively high velocities which is counter productive . Unless you plan to shoot an elephant or gaur bison or cape buffalo at distances exceeding 200 yards , you do not want such a high velocity .
A lowered velocity produces less erratic results on bullet integrity .
If you lower the powder charge of the .460 Weatherby magnum and bring the velocity down to 2350 feet per second or thereabouts , then you have good performance.
If high velocity is your fancy , then you use a monolithic solid bullet of 500 grain weight, with a flat point ( as opposed to a round point ) . That will not deform .
The South African company , Rhino will turn out such bullets for the .460 Weatherby magnum calibre . Barnes used to do it as well , but ceased manufacturing them after BATF ( Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Fire Arms & Explosives ) declared them to be armour piercing .
Issues that occurred 50-60 years ... Hmnnn , let's see. So , in 1990 a professional South African elephant culler by the name of Mike LaGrange published a book named " Ballistics ln Perspective " ( a book which I highly recommend to anyone who plans to hunt dangerous game someday ) . This gentleman shot more that 6000 African elephants between 1980 and 1990 , when he was in charge of the culling team at Nyamanetchi . In his book , he documents the dismal failures of factory loaded .460 Weatherby magnum ammunition when used on big bull elephants for brain brain shots , or cape buffalo with frontal heart shots and shoulder shots .
In 2011 , a professional hunter named Pierre Van Der Walt wrote a book called " African Dangerous Game Cartridges " where where he speaks of the dismal failures of .460 Weatherby magnum calibre factory loaded ammunition on African elephants and hippopotamuses .
Sure .. I am no spring chicken ( I turn 80 this year ) , but 2011 seems fairly recent to me .
Regarding the .458 Winchester magnum ... It is not a cartridge which I have much love for , either . A .375 Holland & Holland magnum cartridge case is 3 inches long and propels a 300 grain bullet with marvellous results . By contrast , a .458 Winchester magnum cartridge case is 2.5 inches long ( 0.5 inches shorter ) and yet it employs a 500 grain bullet ( which weighs 200 grains more than the aforementioned .375 Holland & Holland magnum ) . In my eyes , this is conceptually wrong .
When Winchester launched the .458 Winchester magnum calibre in 1956 , their factory manufactured ammunition was loaded to achieve a velocity of 2150 feet per second. Unfortunately , they realized that shelf life with such a powder charge was very definite . Ammunition stored for a few years tended to develop erratic velocities , often delivering velocities at least 100 feet per second less than what was advertised . In 1960 , Winchester began to manufacture their factory loaded ammunition to achieve a slightly lower velocity of 2130 feet per second . Unfortunately , shelf life was still a problem ( especially compared to other calibres ) . In 1973 , Winchester began to load their factory manufactured ammunition to achieve a slightly lowered velocity of 2120 feet per second , in yet another attempt to improve shelf life . Unfortunately , the desired result ( a longer shelf life for .458 Winchester magnum calibre ammunition ) was still not achieved . In 1978 , Winchester finally decided to do something drastic . They lowered the powder charge of the .458 Winchester magnum calibre factory loaded ammunition to achieve a velocity of 2040 feet per second. This move DID improve the shelf life considerably . Unfortunately , it also made the .458 Winchester magnum calibre an unreliable performer for frontal brain shots on big bull elephants , and this phenomenon was recorded widely by the Zimbabwe Department of National Parks and Wild Life Management, whose culling teams experienced numerous penetration problems on big bull elephants , using the factory loaded ammunition produced by Winchester and Remington for the .458 Winchester magnum at that time ( 1980 to 1984 )
Remington also followed the same route as Winchester . When Remington 1st began to manufacture .458 Winchester magnum calibre factory loaded ammunition in 1961 , the advertised velocity was already 2130 feet per second ( because they had already learnt from Winchester that a velocity of 2150 feet per second was causing problems with shelf life ) . They experienced shelf life problems and thus , by 1973 the powder charge was lowered to achieve a velocity of 2120 feet per second. They still experienced shelf life problems , and thus in 1978 they ( like Winchester ) also lowered their powder charge to achieve a velocity of 2040 feet per second . The effect ( or lack thereof ) that this lowered velocity had on thick skinned dangerous game ( especially frontal brain shots on big bull elephants or frontal heart shots or shoulder shots on cape buffaloes ) was widely recommended by the African game departments of the 1980s ( as I have elaborated on , in the above paragraph ).
If you wished to get desirable results on thick skinned dangerous game , with the .458 Winchester magnum , then the trick was to do 2 things :
> use ammunition loaded to the original advertised 2130 to 2150 feet per second.
> Use VERY FRESH ammunition , taking the short shelf life in to the equation .
The early patterns of Winchester and Remington factory loaded ammunition ( which was loaded to accomplish a velocity of 2150 feet per second and 2130 feet per second , respectively ) were marvellous performers if the operator was using freshly loaded / factory ammunition . I have personally seen what freshly loaded .458 Winchester magnum ammunition ( loaded to velocities of 2130 to 2150 feet per second ) can accomplish . They are good performers.
Today , most modern hunters who use achieve good results with the .458 Winchester magnum AND get a good shelf life , use bullets weighing no more than 480 grains . This increases powder space and shelf life. Those who use monolithic bullets typically use 450 to 465 grain bullets . Of course , sectional density is compromised . However , they do the work properly.
Your statement that bullets were also bending in the .458 Winchester magnum calibre is also too generalized . There were , indeed a few batches of Winchester " Full Metal Jacket " factory loaded ammunition produced in the late 1960s ( I 1st became aware of the issue in 1967 ) , where the " jackets " of the " full metal jacket " 500 grain bullets were poorly constructed and upon being fired at thick skinned dangerous game , these bullets often had a tendency to have their " jackets" rupture .
However , Hornady 500 grain " full metal jacket" bullets were also available during our time , as a hand loading component . These bullets had extremely thick and sturdily constructed " jackets " . When used in the .458 Winchester magnum , I had never seen a Hornady 500 grain " full metal jacket " bullet distort ( even if the ammunition was loaded to a velocity of 2150 feet per second ) .
The same Hornady 500 grain " full metal jacket " .458 calibre bullets , when used in the .460 Weatherby magnum ( loaded to factory velocities of 2600 feet per second ) were prone to distorting . If you lowered the velocity of the .460 Weatherby magnum calibre ammunition to achieve 2350 feet per second ( which is ample for anything which walks God's Green Earth ) , then these Hornady 500 grain " full metal jacket " bullets were sweet performers .
At the end of the day , however... If I was guiding clients again and a gentleman showed up at my outfitters with a .460 Weatherby magnum calibre rifle or a .458 Winchester magnum calibre rifle , then I would still be more than happy to guide them ( provided that they can shoot straight with them , of course ) .
